Homeschooling - As Easy as ABC
Given the complexities of the English language and the fact that the letter a alone can make between five and nine sounds depending on your accent, the title of this article is purposely deceptive. Putting yourself in the position of head-person-in-charge-of-education (HPICOE) in your household is rightfully daunting and awe-inspiring.
Most learning programs probably begin by teaching the letter a, because education starts at the “beginning” and builds on what was learned the day, month, or grade prior. Teaching a child the most basic building block of reading starts at the letter a, but the teacher must decide how to teach, what concepts to include, the level of rigor, the method of practice, and how attainment of knowledge will be measured. The letter a lesson may focus on letter recognition, phonics, blending, or handwriting. You’re the HPICOE, it’s up to you.
A word of advice while you are contemplating the complexities of the letter a, don’t get hung up on the right way to teach it, or the supplies you simply must have first, or whether your child is a left-brained, visual learning, pragmatist, just teach and teach often. Setting up your living room as a fully furnished multiuse homeschool/den/study area/library/science lab/art studio is not necessary, just get to the teaching. To help you through this maze of learning (and decisions about learning) here are my ABC’s of homeschooling:
A - Have an Actionable Plan
Look, nothing in my house gets done without a list, I have goals and I break those down into tasks and then I get to crossing off my list of tasks, and before you know it I’ve reached my goal. Now, it’s not quite as easy to go from K to 12th grade, as a list of tasks on a piece of paper. But how do you eat an elephant, I don’t, but if I did it would be in manageable pieces. Decide on the goal for the school year. I want my child in to reach all the Board of Education grade level standards by March. Now find out the standards (local BOE website) and print them out. You can work through the list of skills by using Teacherspayteachers to download their free worksheets that match the skill, or use great books…
B - Books
You are going to need great books, that includes reading books, textbooks, workbooks, notebooks, and journals. No need to turn your house into a library, there’s one just down the street. Put weekly trips to the local library in the schedule. There are also great homeschool books - use these reviews to help you choose. Your state may have free online textbooks available for anyone to use, Georgia does!
C - Consistency
African Proverb - Little by little, the bird builds the nest. You’re the bird and your children are the nest, I guess they should be in the nest, but you get the idea. Teaching your children means pouring into them daily. Set a calendar, plan a daily schedule, get up before they do so that you can get your routines started, and be ready for them. I always say the teacher’s plan for the day is perfect until you add children. They will not understand what you’re teaching every day, some days you will feel like you’re talking to yourself, they will want to read when it’s time for math, and do math when it’s time to read. Be flexible, be patient, be encouraging, and most of all have fun! Tall order, not really, when you least expect it you’ll hit an ah-ha moment and it will all be worth it (I promise).